GENEVA, Ill. (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- The Kane County Board will now have a special, four-legged guest at upcoming committee meetings at the Government Center in Geneva.
Blair Peters, Kane County's Technologies Coordinator, otherwise known as the behind-the-scenes IT person, is working with a 4-month-old pup while it undergoes training to become a service dog.
Peters was paired with Gremlin, a four-month-old Poodle/Labrador mix, through VIP Service Dog Foundation of Hinckley, a volunteer, charitable organization whose mission is to provide affordable service dogs to individuals with disabilities.
“I love dogs and decided to volunteer with the foundation to help give someone part of their independence back,” Peters said.
In strategizing on how to expand Gremlin’s training, Peters approached Kane County Board members for permission to bring the dog to board committee meetings at the Government Center in Geneva.
“The boardroom is a large public space with lots of people talking, walking around, and there are lots of distractions like doors closing, ringing cell phones, and chairs moving,” said Peters. “The board members were happy to welcome Gremlin and gave their okay to have him work alongside me."
One of the keys to successfully training a service dog is to get them to a point where they ignore everyone around them, except their handler. The dogs wear a vest that lets the public know they are in a specialized training program.
“Because Gremlin is such a sweet dog people are constantly coming up to us to pet him,” Peters said. “I have to tell them that Gremlin is working and cannot be distracted.”
VIP Service Dog Foundation provides affordable service dogs to individuals with disabilities. The service dogs assist disabled individuals with everyday activities.
VIP (Very Important Pooches) Founder and President Donna Akers said volunteers are fully trained on how to teach the service dogs basic obedience skills, in addition to more specialized training.
“A service dog learns to perform at least two custom tasks to help an individual mitigate their disability,” Akers said.
For more information about the foundation go visit vipservicedogfoundation.com
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